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Monday, April 2, 2012

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What's It Wednesday #19

There is something romantic about an antique cast iron stove. Even Benjamin Franklin found these utilitarian works of art interesting. In the Mid-1700s, he decided to improve upon the stove design of the day and created the "Pennsylvania Fireplace".

This Sheffield cast iron stove is my personal favorite. It once belonged to my grandmother and now resides, lovingly, in my Dad's kitchen.

This HCI wood-burning cast iron stove is kept in Dad's kitchen as well. This stove was used to keep you nice and toasty on a cold day.

My mother's dear friend Sandy is one of my idols and mentors for many reasons. She and her husband have been blessed with the opportunity to live in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, The Everglades. Living in such a magnificent place not only gives you the opportunity interact with nature, but also to acquire all kinds of amazing antiques that people either leave behind, give away, or sell cheaply. This stove is truly a beautiful piece of art from the Atlanta Stove Works of Atlanta, Georgia.

The Atlanta Stove Works went out of business in the 1890s and was replaced by the Birmingham Stove Works and later the Birmingham Stove and Range Company.

When I grow up, I want a beautiful antique stove that I can put in my garden. This piece adds such grace and character to one of Sandy's gorgeous gardens.

How about this beautiful cast iron stove as a planter and an art piece on your deck or porch?

The one thing I do know is that these beautiful antique stoves found a great home to be featured in.

Tell us about a beautiful stove in your fondest memory.

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

Paula

Thank you all for participating in our"What's It Wednesday"linky party!Don't forget to grab a feature button.

Here are this week's awesome features

Get ready to be amazed by the design genius of Rosemary over at Villabarnes

104 comments:

Oh, I adore those antique stoves. I remember one that my Mil had in her country home and it worked! I love the story about them too. Thank you for sharing. Pretty features, I specially love Rosemary's lovely things. Thank you for hostessing and having me. HAPPY EASTER ladies!FABBY

Hey ladies, love the stove stories. I remember one that some good friends had in their family room/basement where we would all huddle up and feel the warmth during those cold Pennsylvania country winters. (I'm from PA, bet you didn't know that!) Anyway, I think wood burning stoves are a wonderful blast from the past. Love the ones you've shared!

Paula- I loved this post. I grew up with a big old cast iron stove in our kitchen that my mother used to cook every day meals on. Looking back I don't know how she did it and did all the baking she did with a wood stove. What a fun post here today. xo Diana

Thanks for sharing all your knowledge of antique stoves. I always thought these were such beautiful pieces of art...just as they are. I love the idea of using it in the garden.Thank you so much for hosting:-)

What a nostalgic post for me! For 28 years out of the 30 we lived in the mountains at 5,000 feet, we had cast iron stoves and cut our own firewood. They are so very country! Thanks for sharing, hosting and linking to Tuesday Cuppa Tea! Happy Easter!Ruth

What wonderful old wood burning stoves! I remember the one my grandparents had in their cabin, how you had to take the poker and lift the plate up to control the heat. We girls were always warned not to touch it, but I wanted to so bad. (I was so naughty!)

Hi, love all of the vintage stoves. So fun to hear a bit about them. I have an old stove in my garden and it is my favorite piece of yard art. It is so heavy that I almost hated to ask my hubby to bring it up to our new home. He and the boys delivered it for me and I am so happy. I sure would have missed that old thing. Thanks for hosting. Great features also.Hugs,Jann

Hi Paula & Patty,those stoves are glorious. They add a warm and comfy feeling to every room. We had similar fireplaces in the house for a long time. Nothing is better than heating with true wood. But its much more comfy with a gas heating. Anyway, the stoves make a great decoration.Best greetings, Johanna

Oh how I love this post! I'm not sure if you ever looked at the "tour" of the outside of my home on one of my earlier blogs, but I have my great- grandmother's cast iron coal stove in my garden and it looks beautiful. It has also become home to the most gorgeous birds as it rests near one of 4 lilac trees planted by my great grandmother, 80 plus years ago. I have inherited my grandparent's beautiful Victorian, and the grounds are just beautiful. Over the past few years I've added my special touches to the gardens and this is one of my favorite pieces.Your posts always take me back to such wonderful memories, Patti. We share so many of the same passions, with such a strong sense of family and just how important it relates to our lives today... I always leave here with such an incredible feeling of joy. Your posts not only inspire, but they are a gentle reminder of what REALLY matters in our life: family.God Bless and may you and your family have a beautiful Easter. xo

Oh, such memories these stoves bring back into my mind, Paula! Many many many years ago I had a Ben Franklin fireplace in my very first little home I bought. I loved spending cold winter nights in front of it keeping toasty warm with my glass of wine! :)

I remember my grandparents' wood cook stove in the kitchen and the wood stove in the front room of their home. That was the only heat in the two story house. I remember many a frosty morning standing beside that stove trying to get warm enough to get ready for school.:-)

Beautiful stoves...I love the story about your family stove...I had a small one I kept in a corner used it as a plant stand...when we moved, I sold it and now have seller's remorse...it was a beauty like the ones you featured..

I just am in awe of all those gorgeous stoves in your family. I love them.My brother has an old Kukaburra stove he uses all the time. You know the green ones on legs with the warming rack over the top. Looks really good and he says it cooks beautifully. It is gas though. Wood burning ones are so comforting.xx

What a wonderful idea to put a vintage stove in the garden! How fun.... reading your post and the blogger comments. Funny how we can all relate.Thank you for inviting me to join the linky party!Thanks for hosting.Happy Easter!Elizabeth

I love reading your antique posts! You always feature the most unique and fascinating items and have such great history to go along with them! Thank you for hosting your fun party!Best Wishes and Blessings,Amanda

always a treat to read your descriptive blog. You have made me appreciate my wood stove more than I do. I do find it hard to decorate around though. I do like your suggestion of putting it in the garden. :) Have a wonderful day xo Lynn

Thanks for the invite and the nice comments! I like the old stoves, we're trying to find a small one to use in a cabin. I found some pieces of an old stove and I plan to use them in my garden, the base as a planter and the door just propped up someplace.Faye

We installed a pot belly stove in our first home. The only time I remember lighting it, it filled the entire house with smoke! After that, I used it to showcase my collection of vintage red kitchen ware. Thanks for hosting! Blessings, Tammy

What a wonderful idea to have a cast iron stove in the garden. I was lucky to stay in a cabin once whose only heat came from the cooking stove and breakfast was prepared there the next morning. It was a fun experience! Thanks for hosting today's party.

I love these stoves! My Dad was in the area in KY that lost power during that ice storm a few years ago and for 17 days their stove was awesome! They cooked all their food on it and it kept them warm. The rest of the year they use their heat and air. Thanks for hosting!Sherry

When i was a child growing up in Tennessee, we had a pot bellied stove to keep us warm. i remember sitting by it on a cold morning before going to school. Thank you for the memory and thanks for hosting today.~Clara

Awesome post!! LOVE those wonderful stoves. I've always wanted to have one of those big kitchen stoves...all cast iron, or one of the porcelain ones..maybe in a wonderful vintage color.These examples are lovely!thanks so much for joining me for Pearls and Lace Thursday on my blog!I'm so glad you came by!Blessings, Doni

Paula, thank you for your very sweet words and inviting me here!! I just linked up! I LOVE these stoves. And actually the fireplace in my keeping room isn't a fireplace, it's a woodstove that looks like a fireplace and we LOVE it! :) Can't wait to look around some more here! Happy Easter!Kristi

Paula, Thank you for inviting me!! I am all linked up and following! What a beautiful blog! Love the vintage pics! I would love it if you would link up to my Blog Hop Social going on now and then again on Thursdays for my Craft & Recipe linky! Kim@madeinadayhttp://madeinaday.com

HI!! I am happy to join the party again this week, even if I am a little late:) Beautiful features too. We are moving, building a new home and there are not enough hours in the day right now. It is funny you spoke about wood stoves. We have one that we only used for 3 winters and have to get rid of it. I am praying we find someone, if not it will go to an auction. I wish you were nearby and could have it:) Thanks for hosting! XO, Pinky

I love these old stoves!! I had a small miniature one that my mother gave me when she was breaking up house when my parents divorced. It never made it home with me as someone broke into the house and took all the things that were remaining- which happened to be my things as I was out of town. Still on the hunt for another to replace it-

I am always on the lookout for unique and vintage pieces to use in an unusual way, like those stoves in the garden and on the deck for planters! What a cool idea! Gotta find one!Thanks for hosting- your blog is sweet :)Sheila swirlygirldreamsndecor

I love your pictures and all of the history that you write about. So my cup of tea! Thank you for visiting me today and your sweet comments, plus the invitation to join in for "What's It Wednesday".Have a wonderful Easter!KarenLadybug Creek

I totally agree that there is something romantic about antique stoves. Must be those graceful lines and toasty warmth! I've never owned one, but I have had clients who did. Thanks for sharing these beauties!

Hi Paula, my grandmother had one of those four burner wood burning stoves in her kitchen. We used to run from the bedroom (no heat) to the kitchen where it would be warm with that stove burning wood. We loved to watcher her stoke the fire. Brings back "warm" memories :) Linda

Thank you so much for visiting my blog and leaving your comment, and then inviting me to join your party. I have done that and have become a follower of your blog. Love your stoves. Thanks for hosting the party and I will be visiting some of the other blogs for sure

Fascinating as always, dear friends!I love the idea of a stove in the garden! :)Don't have any personal memories, but I love visiting a historic park in town...the homes on the property all have these fabulous stoves, they are so beautifully made.xoxo,- Irina

Love the stoves! I remember my great-grandmother having one of these in her kitchen. I was 10yrs, there was a blizzard outside in Wisconsin and I was sitting around the kitchen table with my younger sister and cousins drinking hot cocoa while the women were quilting. Haven't thought about that in a long time; thanks for the memory. : ) Thank you for the party invite also; all linked up.

While cleanin' out the old homestead after MIL moved to assisted livin' we found an old cast iron cook stove in excellent condition tucked back under the stairs. I've lived on the Ponderosa 39+ years and never knew it was there.

The wood burning stoves remind me of my grandmother who used one for many years. She baked the best pies and cakes and fried the best chicken on it. I'll never know how, since I don't think the heat is easy to regulate on wood burners. Thanks for the memory.Happy Easter,Babs

The Ladies of Ivy and Elephants

We are Moms, dreamers, visionaries, and creators. Our love for all things vintage and Victorian is evident throughout our homes. We are passionate about our families, friends, food, and fabulous finds. We are Ivy & Elephants.